President Hichilema hosts Chief Justice of Uganda, stresses importance of alternative dispute resolution

President Hakainde Hichilema has directed the Chief Justice, Mumba Malila, to fully implement the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in order to further reduce on the backlog of Court cases in the country.

President Hichilema said the country already had a law that supports that the ADR, a system which empowers citizens by giving them greater control over how disputes were resolved amicably.

The Head of State said this in Lusaka on Monday when Justice Malila and the Chief Justice of Uganda Alfonse Owiny-Dollo paid a courtesy call on him at State House.

President Hichilema emphasized the need not to over look the power of the ADR, citing several cases like those in the mining industry which had been resolved without waiting for the court processes.

“Judges are under pressure to deliver judgements on time but the backlog is not providing them the opportunity to deliver them on time. We have had cases that have dragged for as long as 20 years with judgement being delivered,” he noted.

President Hichilema maintained his call on the Judiciary to ensure that cases were disposed off within five months and the use of the ADR like the case in Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), First Quantum Minerals (FQM) among others.

In his speech, Solicitor General Marshal Muchende highlighted that the Lusaka Magistrate Court currently had approximately 10,000 cases due to delays in the justice system against 26 magistrates.

“The African or Alternative Dispute Resolutions mechanism will help to deal with the backlog of civil cases in the country. We have 10,000 cases at the Lusaka Magistrate Court against 26 magistrates,” Muchende said.

In his response, Justice Owiny-Dollo stated that African countries like Zambia had an opportunity to resurrect the ADR in resolving most of the disputes and help decongest court premises.

Meanwhile, Justice Malila said Justice Owiny-Dollo was in the country to officially open the High Court Session which would be opened under theme: “exploring and employing ADR.”

“The trend through out the world is to emphasize on the need to implement the Alternative Dispute Resolutions which is mainly moving criminal matters to civil matters. We thought we make a difference by inviting an outsider as a way of breaking the tradition,” he said.

Justice Malila stated that Justice Owiny-Dollo was a prominent advocate for ADR, a system that enhances the efficiency, effectiveness and accessibility of the judicial process.

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